


hold me softly

by orphan_account



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Akashi can see youkai, Akashi is damsel in distress at some point, Dove Youkai!Kuroko, Fantasy AU, Fluff, Happy Ending, Kinda like natsume yuujinchou?, Kuroko with wings hhhhhhh, Lonely Akashi and Kuroko so dey become frens, M/M, Much fairytale bs, Natsume Yuujinchou AU ??, They will be together forever, i am not hinting anything thru tags ok, it's safe to read youll be fine, some anticlimatic shiz, wistfulness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-01-17
Packaged: 2018-09-09 04:46:08
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8876557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: "Mourning doves, also referred to as turtle doves, tend to mate for life."-----Akashi meets an angel that is not an angel, but he is just as beautiful as one could be.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I've never written fantasy AUs before so let's do this trippy one hahahahahah pls
> 
> Short and sweet nyahaha
> 
> Notes:  
> -Kuroko basically angel bootiful maigat  
> -Luv luv  
> \- words in italic, crossed and centered are just partitions for scene transitions

Akashi tries to focus in the midst of the feathers, a whirlwind of white speckles in the breeze drifting against the currents in a strange delirium. He raises an arm up to cover from the blinding light that shone in piercing rays of bright yellow, eyes squinting to avoid further damage. When the disarray clears, Akashi is met with the sight of glorious wings folded into the back of an astonishingly pale figure, locks of cerulean blue shifting in the winds. The small head turned to meet Akashi's eyes.

Akashi had never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

In the infinite blue of the peculiar creature's eyes, Akashi saw raging waves, splashes of thundering water smashing against darker tints of a fairy tale night sky, sparkling sea foam flashing into appearance and disappearance within practiced rhythm. Clouded sky blue stains the irises in swirls of light tones, framing the emptiness of the black in the middle. Akashi almost reaches out by reflex, the way one would be drawn to touch naturally captivating objects. Before he could blink, a flash of alarm slashes through the fantasy of the figure's charm, the only warning embedded in widening eyes. The angel swoops swiftly into the sky, vanishing with a swish of his wing, leaving behind but a single feather for Akashi to remember him by.

Akashi's gaze remains directed at the sky in wonder.

~~_is your skin as soft as the feathers on your back?_ ~~

The second encounter is far less climactic, a mere brush of a touch. Akashi walks through the same area where he last saw the otherworldly human, and there he sits on a tree branch, observing Akashi intently. Akashi looks up and waves. The creature looks surprised.

"You can see me?" 

The voice that Akashi hears is soft, so unlike the previous sharpness of the speaker's eyes. Soft like cherry blossoms and spring flowers, impossibly tender to the touch of skin. A lilting, melodious cadence accompanies the delicacy, and Akashi can only think of how fragile it all seems. This time, the creature's lack of alertness diminishes his  treacherous aura, replacing it with a certain tranquility, like the still waters of a river. However, Akashi feels the subtle yet guarded stance that the figure puts up.

"I can."

Akashi's own voice is a stark contrast, saccharine and velvet smooth with penetrating tones of authority, as though everything he says is nothing but the absolute truth. His eyes are wide with the redness of fresh blood complemented by lighter tones of flesh-like scarlet, his entirety screaming with fiery crimson fires and rosy blushes of love and hate, his fingers twitching with murderous intent.

Which is to say, that is purely the perspective of a first impression. Kuroko has further insights, but now is not the time to share.

Kuroko jumps down from his perch and holds out his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. I am Kuroko Tetsuya."

~~_i adore you_ ~~

Akashi and Kuroko share brief words of small talk for the first few meetings. Eventually, Akashi simply starts coming more often. 

"I'm not an angel."

"What are you then?"

"I'm a dove."

"You don't look  _that_ birdy."

"Akashi-kun is being childish."

They sit next to each other, leaning on whatever tree they wish and they part ways at sunset. They are accompanied by nothing but falling leaves and chirping birds (actual ones, none like Kuroko). Akashi appreciates the escape, like it was a world made for them only. Kuroko likes the new friend after years of loneliness and solitary confinement. 

It's a little less obvious, but Akashi gets lonely too. 

~~_remind me to love you always_ ~~

Akashi makes the mistake of flinching when a hideous youkai shrieks hysterically. The youkai spots him and slides in front of him. Akashi stops in his tracks. The youkai barely has his claws on his shoulders before Akashi is swept into the sky with a flourish. Akashi is inevitably surprised,  his head lifting to glance at his saviour.  

"Kuroko," he breathes. 

"Akashi-kun is troublesome, getting himself into situations like that," Kuroko scolds, his eyebrows scrunched together, wings beating in the air. 

"Maybe I should do it more often if I get to have Kuroko as my knight in shining armour."

"Then,  Akashi-kun is a princess?" Kuroko teases. 

"What?"

"Nothing~" Kuroko says in a singsong voice, a playful smile dancing on his lips.

Akashi has half a mind to pinch him, but he realizes that it is a terrible option, considering that they were a thousand feet up in the air. Kuroko tightens his hold on Akashi, almost to the point where it hurt. Akashi doesn't mind, because he would have done the same in his place. Akashi looks down, his eyes wandering over the stretch of fresh green fields and tiny homes as he soared in Kuroko's domain, the sky. He stifles a giddy laugh when a bird flies by, feeling free for once in his tedious life. Kuroko's smile never falters as he watches Akashi having the time of his life, eyes shining with glee. Unfortunately, the sun was setting, and Kuroko was sure that Akashi had to return home, however unhappy he may be there. The flap of his wings begins to slow as he descends, a little something dying in his heart as disappointment shows on Akashi's face.

When their feet touch the ground, Kuroko lets go of Akashi, feeling a little shaky. Akashi turns to face him with a sad smile.

"See you tomorrow, then?" Akashi's usually clear voice is uncharacteristically soft today.

"Of course, Akashi-kun." Kuroko's fingers twitch, wanting to pull him back.

Akashi leaves without another word.

~~_your lonely heart beats in time with mine_ ~~

"Does Akashi-kun like flowers?"

Akashi stares quizzically at Kuroko, replying, "I suppose I do."

"What's your favourite kind?"

Akashi is silent for a few seconds, eyes far beyond the horizon as he thinks. "Roses. White ones."

"Why?"

At that moment, Kuroko sees Akashi's smile, all things in their surroundings paling in comparison to its beauty. 

"They remind me of your wings."

_~~Oh how sweet this love may be~~ _

~~~~Kuroko doesn't wake Akashi up when he arrives to see Akashi in their usual spot, leaning against a tree and sleeping. He sits quietly beside him instead, relishing the calming sight of Akashi in peaceful slumber. With all worry lines gone from his face, Akashi looks like a child. Kuroko chuckles softly to himself.

The winds of spring blow gently, ruffling Kuroko's feathers. He starts thinking.

He thinks about how Akashi is nothing like the way he looks (or at least, the way he was taught to all his life), or even the way he acts, whether it be around Kuroko or other people. Kuroko has a lot of spare time, so he often follows Akashi around. Ah, is it stalking? No, it's merely for research purposes, Kuroko tells himself. Around the general public, Akashi is undoubtedly more tense, backing every movement he makes with caution. His presence gives off an air that screams ' ** _inapproachable_** ', but no one ever takes the time to look past their own fear of him to glimpse the insecurity that was the actual source of the problem. Of course not. Akashi's existence is one too powerful to withstand sometimes, and it explains his lack of any real communicative human contact. 

Akashi was perfect.

 _Too perfect_.

It's the very reason why everyone accepts it. Why they only think things like _'That's just how Akashi is, a human that transcends humanity's limits, a god who has come to show us our place.'_ Nothing else. Maybe envy comes into play, but even that isn't likely, because no one can hope to shoulder the amount of potential that Akashi has bottled up in his titanium shell. 

Kuroko thinks that Akashi hates that. That Akashi probably loathes the world that shapes itself to his liking with a snap of his finger, that he thinks that there is only one thing Akashi had never been able to truly attain.

An open, trusting relationship. With anyone.

Akashi trusts no one. Not his classmates, his father, not even Kuroko. 

Kuroko hopes to set Akashi free from such constrictions of the heart.

 ~~_why must we humans be so troublesome_ ~~

"Did you have a nice nap, Akashi-kun?"

The voice that startles Akashi as he stirs awake is laced with bemusement. Akashi's eyes open wide and alert almost immediately.

"Kuroko...?"

"No, Akashi-kun, it's your father."

"Don't joke around in such a distasteful manner."

Akashi takes a split second to realize that he is leaning on Kuroko's shoulder. He backs away quickly.

"Anyway, how long have I been out?" Akashi hopes that Kuroko doesn't try to ask about how he tries to distract Kuroko with such a question.

Kuroko is truly an angel, because he doesn't. "You fell asleep before I arrived, so maybe a couple of hours, give or take?"

Akashi's heart twists into a knot as he calculates the bare amount of time he has left to spend with Kuroko. "The sun's going to set soon...why didn't you wake me up?"

"Akashi-kun needs the sleep. You've been having exams, right?"

"Still-"

"Shh, are you going to waste our time with trivial things like that? Tell me about your day."

Akashi pursed his lips before reluctantly complying to Kuroko's request. 

~~_you know when something feels so right yet so wrong?_ ~~

"Akashi-kun?"

"Hm?"

Lips crash almost violently onto Akashi's own and it sends electricity flowing through his veins (and arteries) like two thousand volts of energy. The sting is pleasantly exhilirating, burning with tragically passionate flames that leave blisters and scars on his body because Akashi isn't used to it. Akashi sinks into the shadows where Kuroko lies, where it's dangerous, almost to the point where it's addicting, and that's when Akashi's eyes widen in abrupt realization. He pulls away.

"Kuroko-"

"Stop pushing people away, Akashi-kun. Stop thinking that you have to be skeptical about everything. Stop acting like everyone's a stranger. After all this time, you can't trust me?" Kuroko looked desperate, the seas in his eyes filled with the grey of rumbling thunderstorms that are about to arrive. Akashi is taken aback, his hands trembling as they clenched into tight fists.

"I can't-"

" _Yes you can._ "

Kuroko grabs Akashi's hands and squeezes them tight in his palms, tears welling up in his eyes. Akashi's afraid. He's afraid.

_I can't._

Akashi goes limp when Kuroko kisses him again, and this time Akashi reciprocates with the same levels of intensity as Kuroko had, his fingers clawing onto his back as tears poured down his cheeks.

_Yes you can._

~~_maybe it's just my imagination_ ~~

Akashi feels sort of uneasy today, but it's...relieving.

He does the usual. He walks to school and the whole thing passes like a blur because he doesn't care. He cares when he finishes and he can run through the streets into the woods where Kuroko was, where he wanted to be.

He really didn't see it coming.

~~_I'll burn into ashes_ ~~

_"Ca-----bulance!!"_

_"I- okay?!"  
_

_"Can you--- hea-- me?"_

_"Sir!!"_

~~_and I'll rise from the darkness_ ~~

_Oh... I'm dead._

~~_oops_ ~~

 

Akashi doesn't  _feel_ dead.

He's floating, actually  _floating,_ just like the characters do in the cliche novels he received from countless lovestruck girls, on multiple birthdays, that sit ignored on his shelves. He can't see anything but it feels like he's being enveloped by soft pillows and a thousand tender caresses of silky satin. He feels like he's...

"Akashi-kun!"

Akashi's eyes seem to jolt wide open and his vision is flooded with kaleidoscopic strings of multicoloured rainbows, illuminating the brightness of the world he hasn't really looked at properly in so long. He struggles to focus, his vision sharpening uncharacteristically, the weight on his heart lifting and purifying his tainted soul with every newly wonderful sight. The world suddenly looks beautiful. 

So beautiful.

"Akashi-kun!!"

Akashi's head jerks towards the familiar voice. He notices that he is actually lying on the ground.

"Kuroko...?"

Kuroko pulls Akashi up into a sitting position and throws his arms around him.

"Oh, Akashi-kun, I'm so glad you're not dead! Well, you are, but-"

Kuroko is cut off when Akashi presses their lips together, a grin on stretching across his face.

" _Oh, Tetsuya._ "

Kuroko stiffens before blushing unbelievably red. "Eh- eh??!! Akashi-kun-"

"You're Tetsuya now, so I'm Seijuurou. Go on. Say it."

Akashi-kun doesn't care whether he's dead or he's not. He doesn't feel caged for the first time in his life. He's giddy. He wants to do everything with Kuroko and he's sure he can. 

He feels free.

"Akashi-kun..."

"Nope."

"Shut up!"

Akashi pecks him on the lips.

"Please."

Kuroko bites his bottom lip. "Se- Seijuurou-kun..."

Akashi pushes Kuroko down onto the ground with a drunken smile, crushing him with love alone.

~~_not as a phoenix, but as your beloved_ ~~

"I have wings," Akashi states blankly.

"Did you just realize that?!"

~~_Ah how wonderful_ ~~

"You know, Akashi-kun, doves like us are meant to mate for life. We're meant for each other, like fate. Don't you think that's beautiful?"

Kuroko's hair dances in the wind as he sits and looks up at the sky with a radiant smile on his face.

Akashi says nothing, instead opting to kiss his forehead.

_No more beautiful than you, Tetsuya._

Akashi is free. In love.

That's the _second_ most beautiful thing now.

* * *

_"Mourning doves, also referred to as turtle doves, tend to mate for life."_

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> JUST TO MENTION: if you guys follow my works more, I created an instagram acc for info and sneak peeks, @fureiyasaika (I'm not forcing you to, just shameless self-promotion-//slapped)(gonna mention this a few times since people rarely read authors notes)
> 
> Basically Akashi died and was reborn as a dove youkai because of his strong connection to Kuroko. :P
> 
> Any questions? xDDDD
> 
> -Sleepy Cat Sai-chan


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